Dian Fossey devoted her life to the Mountain Gorilla. Throughout her entire life she had a burning desire to connect with animals. It was her passion to study these "Gentle Giants" and do what she could to protect them against any possible danger. Fossey's life’s work gave us a greater understanding of Mountain Gorillas and has revealed their complex society, breaking barriers that had never been attempted before. Dian Fossey was a woman among gorillas.
Dian Fossey reading at camp
The Beginning
Fossey was born in San Francisco, California in the year 1932. Even from a young age she loved animals and began horseback-riding lessons at the age of 6 to go as far as making it on the riding team in her high school years. In her classes she was a very good student and went into business, following her step-father's guidance, in college. However, after traveling to a ranch during one summer she decided to follow her true passion for animals. Dian graduated college in 1954 after majoring in occupational therapy and she then moved to Kentucky to be an intern at many hospitals. Despite this, Fossey could not ignore her dreams of seeing wildlife in the world. Her desperation was such that she spent her entire life savings along with a loan from the bank to travel to Africa where her purpose of life was presented to her. During her touring, she visited Mt. Mikeno in Congo where the first field studies of Mountain Gorillas had taken place.
Dian Fosssy traveling
Studying the Mountain Gorillas
Focused on following her passion, Dian got both the Wilkie Foundation and the National Geographic Society to support her research program which
Dian Fossey with gorilla
was first located in Zaire which was t
Dian Fossey with young gorilla
he former name of the Republic of the Congo. However, it was not long until the base had to be moved to Rwanda due to the political unrest that had occurred in Zaire. There in their new location Fossey established a new research camp named Karisoke. Dian Fossey then studied the social dynamics, ecology and demography of the Mountain Gorilla in their natural environment. The only way to do this was to make the animals feel as comfortable as possible around her which meant imitating them and spending as much time as possible with the animals. Her efforts paid off at last when an adult male gorilla named Peanuts touched her hand for the first time. This was the first friendly contact between gorillas and humans to ever be recorded. The bond between human and gorilla grew even more until a disaster took place. A Mountain Gorilla named Digit, one that Dian was especially close to, was killed by poachers which put a fire in Fossey’s heart. She immediately began a public campaign against gorilla poaching and received support from all over the globe. The contributions allowed Fossey to first construct the Digit Fund, which was later renamed to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. It was then that she decided to earn her Ph.D. in 1974 to receive the credit she deserved for all of her hard work that she had done.
Dian Fossey's grave
Her Death
Dian Fossey had put herself between poachers and her beloved gorillas, making herself a target. She worked hard to make it as hard as possible for poachers to lay a finger on her beloved gorillas by raising public awareness and by the starting of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. For this she and the poachers were pitted against each other. Fossey was found dead with multiple blows to her head in her cabin at Karisoke. While her death, even to this day, is considered a mystery it can be assumed that poachers had their motives for murdering the woman in that had gotten in their way. Dr. Fossey was aware of the risks, defending the animals she loved but needed to do everything in her power to protect them. She was a hero to the gorillas and to the people who appreciate her noble work.
Quotes:
"The more you understand the dignity of gorillas, the more you want to avoid people."
“The man who kills the animals today is the man who kills the people who get in his way tomorrow.”
“When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future.”
Work Cited:
Dian Fossey Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com ." Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <http://www.biography.com/people/dian-fossey-9299545>.
" Dian Fossey -- Biography - The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International." Helping People. Saving Gorillas. - The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <http://gorillafund.org/page.aspx?pid=380>.
"Dian-Fossey.com." Dian-Fossey.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <http://www.dian-fossey.com/>.
Dian FosseyDian Fossey devoted her life to the Mountain Gorilla. Throughout her entire life she had a burning desire to connect with animals. It was her passion to study these "Gentle Giants" and do what she could to protect them against any possible danger. Fossey's life’s work gave us a greater understanding of Mountain Gorillas and has revealed their complex society, breaking barriers that had never been attempted before. Dian Fossey was a woman among gorillas.
The Beginning
Fossey was born in San Francisco, California in the year 1932. Even from a young age she loved animals and began horseback-riding lessons at the age of 6 to go as far as making it on the riding team in her high school years. In her classes she was a very good student and went into business, following her step-father's guidance, in college. However, after traveling to a ranch during one summer she decided to follow her true passion for animals. Dian graduated college in 1954 after majoring in occupational therapy and she then moved to Kentucky to be an intern at many hospitals. Despite this, Fossey could not ignore her dreams of seeing wildlife in the world. Her desperation was such that she spent her entire life savings along with a loan from the bank to travel to Africa where her purpose of life was presented to her. During her touring, she visited Mt. Mikeno in Congo where the first field studies of Mountain Gorillas had taken place.
Studying the Mountain Gorillas
Focused on following her passion, Dian got both the Wilkie Foundation and the National Geographic Society to support her research program which
Her Death
Dian Fossey had put herself between poachers and her beloved gorillas, making herself a target. She worked hard to make it as hard as possible for poachers to lay a finger on her beloved gorillas by raising public awareness and by the starting of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. For this she and the poachers were pitted against each other. Fossey was found dead with multiple blows to her head in her cabin at Karisoke. While her death, even to this day, is considered a mystery it can be assumed that poachers had their motives for murdering the woman in that had gotten in their way. Dr. Fossey was aware of the risks, defending the animals she loved but needed to do everything in her power to protect them. She was a hero to the gorillas and to the people who appreciate her noble work.
Quotes:
"The more you understand the dignity of gorillas, the more you want to avoid people."
“The man who kills the animals today is the man who kills the people who get in his way tomorrow.”
“When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future.”
Work Cited:
Dian Fossey Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com ." Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <http://www.biography.com/people/dian-fossey-9299545>.
" Dian Fossey -- Biography - The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International." Helping People. Saving Gorillas. - The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <http://gorillafund.org/page.aspx?pid=380>.
"Dian-Fossey.com." Dian-Fossey.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <http://www.dian-fossey.com/>.